


A Very Valentine Christmas

by RedheadedBlondeBitxh



Category: Fallout 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26824171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedheadedBlondeBitxh/pseuds/RedheadedBlondeBitxh
Summary: How did Diamond City get their Christmas decorations?Well, I'm glad you asked.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	A Very Valentine Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Keeping up with the drabble a day (except on chapter days) for October!

It hadn’t been more than a few years since Nick had the misfortune of waking up in a trash heap decades past his time. For as much as the residents of Diamond City still seemed fairly apprehensive of him, they regarded him with an air of wonder and mystery that was preferable to the alternative.

Nick knew that it was in part due to mere tolerance, deeming that any sort of confrontation with him was secondary to their own sense of self preservation. Not that he would have done anything to harm the residents, but he was happy to accept what small comforts he could in the wasteland.

Ultimately, he couldn’t blame them for their skepticism. If their roles were reversed he had no doubt that he would distrust and hate a synthetic imposter of a man who was long-dead. It was survival. Hell, he knew it was his damn instinct to be as suspicious as possible. The very nature that had kept him alive his whole career bred a profound sense of self hatred for his construction that was only assuaged by doing what he knew best, working cases.

His most recent case had led him to the abandoned business of Hardware Town. The silence inside the old store was almost deafening as Nick picked his way through the rubble. It had been the last place Brenda Wu had seen her younger sister, right before they’d been ambushed by ferals, and he had the sinking feeling that the rescue mission was going to be far too late to save the young woman.

The sight of the crumbled brunette figure in the corner nearly confirmed his suspicion, the faded pink dress stained bright red with blood. Just as he knelt next to the figure, he heard her raspy breath as she looked up in a panic, her dark eyes wide as she met his yellow ones with a jolt.

“Shh. It’s okay, I’m here to help ya, kid.” He quickly reassured, dropping the pack from his back and pulling out the yellow medical kit within. “Brenda sent me. Said you got into a spot of trouble. So why don’t you let me patch you up and get ya home?”

“Okay.” She agreed weakly, laying back down as Nick worked, bandaging the large gash on her calve wordlessly. “Julia. My name’s Julia.”

“Nick.” He offered politely, carefully injecting the stimpak into the fleshy part of her ankle that was bruised an alarmingly vibrant shade of purple. “That should do it. What do you say I let you rest for a spell and then we can head to the city?”

“Yeah... Thank you Nick.” Julia offered, wincing as she tried to extend her leg.

“Anytime, but I’d prefer we not meet quite the same way in the future.” He answered, pulling out a can of water and a tin of potato crisps that he passed to her. She took the resources silently, quickly opening the water as she watched him nervously.

Nick scanned the area slowly to ensure that none of the business’ previous guests were still alive and kicking, as he wasn't particularly keen to fight off a horde of ghouls on his own, especially while trying to protect the injured woman. It was only then that he noticed the crate in the corner, filled to the brim with Christmas decorations.

A faint smile crept to his lips as he could feel the beginnings of an idea starting to form. “Hey kid, what do you know about Christmas?”

“Uh, isn’t that one of those pre-war holidays?” Julia asked, tilting her head as she followed his gaze.

“Something like that.” He grumbled as he turned back to look at her with a frown. There was something deeply depressing about hearing that the holiday was no longer observed.

“Were you around... you know, back then?” The young woman cautioned, clearly nervous about her line of inquiry.

Nick paused, trying to figure out how exactly to answer the question. “Yeah, sort of. I suppose I was.”

“What was it like, Christmas?”

“It was beautiful. Families would put up decorations and trees, string lights all over the outside of their house in the most ostentatious way possible. Some families would show up outside their neighbors house the night before Christmas to sing carols. Then, on Christmas Day they’d exchange presents and spend time together...” He trailed off, trying to hold onto the faded memories of his last Christmas with Jenny, only a few months before she’d been taken from him far too soon.

“It sounds wonderful.” Julia offered sadly, looking wistfully at the crate.

_Yeah, it was..._

Nick could feel a sudden spurt of determination at the woman’s expression. He might not be the man he once was, but he could sure as hell try to do old-Nick’s memory some justice. “Hey Julia... What do you say we bring a little bit of Christmas back to Diamond City?”

Her eyes went wide at his words, a warm smile breaking across her face. “You mean it?”

He nodded, an impossible warmth spreading into where his heart should have been, if he were human. “Yeah. I think we could all use a little holiday cheer this year.”


End file.
